Why Chianti Classico Wine Deserves More Respect
A more granular approach to terroir—and the best vintage in years—reveals undervalued heavy-hitters in one of Italy’s best-known wine regions.
Antinori nel Chianti Classico, an architectural icon and top vineyard in Gaiole, Italy.
Source: AntinoriItaly’s “wine map man” Alessandro Masnaghetti was speeding fast along narrow, winding roads in Tuscany’s Chianti Classico region, causing me, in the passenger seat, to clutch my door handle, so I could escape in case of a crash. Luckily, we stopped often to examine handfuls of chunks of alberese limestone and savor stunning views of softly green olive trees, hillsides of vines, distant towered castellos and vast forests.
Who knew that only 10% of the famous historic wine region is vineyards, while more than 60% is deep forest hiding destructive wild boar?